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Pilot and Cabin Crew Gig Workers

The document discusses the unfavorable pilot sentiment towards the gig-economy business model in aviation, highlighting concerns about cost-shifting and potential devaluation of the profession. It raises alarms about the risks of reduced flight safety standards due to the use of temporary crews and emphasizes the importance of adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) for effective crew resource management. Additionally, it notes that while regulations ensure pilots are licensed and trained, cultural and safety management issues may still arise.

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Rab Alvaera
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46 views2 pages

Pilot and Cabin Crew Gig Workers

The document discusses the unfavorable pilot sentiment towards the gig-economy business model in aviation, highlighting concerns about cost-shifting and potential devaluation of the profession. It raises alarms about the risks of reduced flight safety standards due to the use of temporary crews and emphasizes the importance of adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) for effective crew resource management. Additionally, it notes that while regulations ensure pilots are licensed and trained, cultural and safety management issues may still arise.

Uploaded by

Rab Alvaera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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 Threats and weaknesses

Currently, pilot sentiment towards the aircrew contingency workforce business


model seems unfavourable. At a financial level, the gig-economy business model
facilitates shifting the costs of earning and maintaining a type rating from
employer to freelance employee.

Aviation consultant and commercial pilot Lea Vesic notes that “the gig-economy
may devalue the pilot profession, and is a potential detriment to the industry and
the profession.”

 Somewhat more concerning is the potential of reduced standards via the


degradation of flight safety levels from using temporary crews. While regulations
and licensing are one of the more visible safety controls in aviation, there are
other threats these do not and cannot address. Importantly, on-demand aircrew
service providers operate within the rules and regulations dictated by CASA, FAA
and other regulatory bodies, because pilots are still required to be licensed,
regulated, and properly trained. But cultural and safety management issues may
become blurred.

 Threat and error management (TEM), according to Flight Safety Foundation, is an


overarching safety concept applied to aviation operations and human performance,
developed as a product of collective aviation experience.

Hawker noted that many full-time pilots may want to convince the operations
department that the risk factors increase with a series of ‘strangers’ occupying the
right-hand seat, “however, it has also been proven that by applying the principles
of crew resource management (or human factors) as part of an integrated safety
management system, it is possible to use contract pilots effectively and cost-
effectively.”

Often developed over many years, SOPs take time to learn and understand. Experienced
pilots who change companies, roles or even aircraft type, expect that there will be an
initial period of increased learning and reduced responsibility as they gain experience and
knowledge in operating in accordance with local SOPs.

Crew resource management is less effective without knowledge of and adherence to


SOPs, and throwing pilots in and out of short-term roles at companies with different
SOPs can be fatiguing and may confuse and undermine the safety controls in plac

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